Too late
by vstarlightwolf
Summary: What if Rikki wasn't able to save Will in season 3, episode 14?  One - shot


Just a brief one -shot I wrote when I was supposed to do school work. I felt like it. It's not really good, but I'd be really happy if you'd review! Just tell me what you think about it.

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**The people talk.**

Silently, concerned and with low voices.

They say it was a diving accident. They say it was a shame. Such a waste. He didn't even finish school.

**Bella cries a lot.**

She never told him what she really wanted them to be. She never told him how much she loved him.

**Sophie cries a lot.**

She never wanted it to happen. If she hadn't pushed her brother to do it, to train and train… If she hadn't always forced him into the water… Why did it have to be him? She knew about the risks, gosh, she knew! But she never expected something to happen.

Never.

**Cleo cries a lot.**

Will was her friend. He knew about their secret. She can't believe he's gone.

**Rikki pretends not to cry.**

Rikki screams. Shouts. Yells at Zane.

But at night she curses herself. If only she had been faster. She could've saved him! Why wasn't she fast enough? Why? It's her fault. She could have prevented it.

She feels guilty.

**Zane stares at the sea a lot.**

It's his fault and he knows it pretty darn well. He doesn't know how to cope with it. At first he tried to forget but it didn't work out. He just couldn't stop thinking about it. It's too much. He's all alone and he doesn't know what to do with his life.

**The people search for him.**

He's not at the same place the accident happened anymore. They find his body on the shore. They thought the sea would have swallowed it, but of course they didn't know about the three mermaids that would have searched the seven seas for him.

They didn't see them in the dark night when they found his body and their tails glistened in the moonlight.

They didn't see the salty tears running down their cheeks and disappearing in the waters of the ocean.

They didn't see how they covered the moonpool with swimming candles.

**The people go to his funeral.**

Cleo and Bella cry in each other's arms. Their bodies are shaking from sobs. They can barely stand, but they just hold each other tight and wipe each other's tears away.

**Bella is broken.**

Sophie runs around and organizes everything. She doesn't look at the coffin. Never. She just functions. The sadness is killing her and she's wondering if she really was a good sister. It was her duty to take care of her little brother and she failed miserably.

**Sophie tries not to think about it.**

Cleo is sadder than sad but she knows she has to be the strong one this time. For Bella and everyone who is hurting.

**Cleo is strong.**

Rikki stands nearby but doesn't get any close to the grave. She cries silently but turns away everytime someone looks over to her. She looks up to the sky and wonders where he might be. He was like a brother to her. He got her. He was the first person to trust her completely. With him she felt loved. He was a true friend.

**Rikki misses him.**

Zane's face has no expression. He sits next to his father, in his uncomfortable formal clothes and isn't even able to cry. He just wants to run.

**Zane feels guilty.**

**The people keep living their life.**

They find something else to talk about it and soon everything is forgotten. They got their own worries. How to pay the bills, what to wear for the party, how to ask out a girl. They live and wait for their own death that will find them one day.

**Bella lays flowers on his grave.**

But she knows that life goes on. She misses him and she knows that she'll never love anyone the way she loved him. She misses him. She'll stay here after she finished school. Close to him.

Bella won't leave him.

**Sophie applies for a new job as far away as possible.**

She dreams of being a successful manager. Maybe she'll take time to think about her brother every Christmas and Easter. Maybe on his birthday and his obit.

Sophie is working.

**Cleo follows Lewis to the United States.**

She'll tell him about everything that happened. She'll find shelter in his arms. She'll start a new life. But she won't forget.

Cleo moves on.

**Rikki doesn't talk to anyone.**

She stays for herself, just like she always did. She walks along the beach and swims. Alone.

Rikki bottles it up.

**Zane is sick.**

He has a fever. The doctor says it may be caused by some mental issue. But Zane won't tell what's bothering him. Sometimes he thinks it would be easy just to die. But he will never be brave enough to actually take the knife and slit his wrists.

Zane is only alive because he's frightened of the death.

**Time goes by.**

The people forget.

Someone else dies, someone else drowns. The years come and go and nothing ever stays the same.

But there is a tombstone with the name

_Will Benjamin_

on it and it's always surrounded by fresh flowers.

Sometimes there would be Bella and she would talk to Will, she would tell him about her life, everything that happened. About her family her job, simply everything.

Sometimes there would be Sophie, taking some time out. But only sometimes.

Sometimes there would be Cleo when she's back for a few weeks. She always comes to the graveyard when she's in town.

Sometimes there would be Rikki, talking to the tombstone but nobody else.

Sometimes there would be Zane, apologizing over and over again.

And maybe one day there will be all of them and they will hug and talk and cry at the same time. They will find out that they'll get through this together and that they shouldn't separate. They will forgive themselves for being too late to save him.

**And they will always remember him.**


End file.
